Columbia Falls Planning Board rejects massive subdivision near Flathead River

After a marathon meeting that ended just before midnight, the Columbia Falls City-County Planning Board voted against a massive subdivision east of the Flathead River on Tuesday night.

All but one person in a crowd of more than 200 at the Columbia Falls Junior High spoke against the 455-unit River Highlands apartment and townhome complex, which was projected to add about 1,200 more residents to the city.

The developer proposing this subdivision is the same developer that proposed the Mountain Gateway project for the base of Big Mountain Road in Whitefish last year. That proposal was rejected by both the Whitefish Planning Board and City Council in late 2021 into February of 2022.

On Tuesday, resident after resident spoke against the Columbia Falls proposal — and it was homegrown opposition to be sure. Aside from an attorney for the Upper Flathead Neighborhood Association, which represents residents east of the river, all but one person gave a physical address in Columbia Falls.

Gary Hall, a former county commissioner and mayor of Columbia Falls, said that over the course of his career he had approved literally hundreds of subdivisions and other projects.

But this one was untenable.

“It is the worst proposal ever presented to this community," Hall said. "I am shocked that staff would support this. My concern now is about the future of the community I love, and knowing that this project will change our community and its character forever."

The subdivision proposal includes a mix of one, two and three bedroom apartments, along with townhomes.

But Michael Brodie, an engineer with the WGM Group, couldn’t give the board an actual breakdown of apartment types. That proved significant because the developer wants to provide just 1.6 parking spots for each unit.

Brodie was the lone frontman for the development at the meeting.

The development proposal also includes 10 affordable units that would be donated to the Northwest Montana Land trust. As a bit of an olive branch to the community, tentative plans also include a skate park.

Members of the public in attendance were unimpressed.

Resident Larry Hoerner, who has lived in Columbia Falls for 71 years, noted the site used to be an encampment for Native Americans.

“I think it would be a shame to cover it in asphalt,” he said.

But the biggest concerns boiled down to three issues: neighborhood character, the impact on the Flathead River, and safety and traffic.

According to a study done in January by the developer, about 80% of the traffic is projected to go north onto U.S. 2, rather than south onto River Road and, ultimately, Columbia Falls Stage Road.

People laughed out loud at that, noting that if a resident leaves, they still have to come back someway. Return trips would likely be via Columbia Falls Stage or Middle Road, two routes that are woefully inadequate for high traffic loads. River Road, for example, has a very steep hill that ices up in the winter months and is twisty and winding along the river.

Residents noted that on more than one occasion drunk drivers have already ended up in their yards.

The developer has said it plans on putting a traffic light at River Road and U.S. 2. The intersection already gets an F grade based on Montana Department of Transportation standards. Even with a light, it would only get a barely passing C grade, based on studies.

One speaker noted that Barnett tried to get a similar development built at the base of Big Mountain, but Whitefish rejected it.

“We can’t get it by the rich folks, let’s get it by the poor folks in Columbia Falls,” he quipped.

He conceded that growth was inevitable.

“But growth needs to be reasonable,” he said.

And this development just didn’t pass that test with residents in attendance. The density was too high and seemed contrary to the city’s own growth policy. That document, while calling for urban residential development just east of the river, is tempered by language that describes primarily single family residences, not exclusively rental property.

“It’s a recipe for disaster,” one resident said. “This will change the character of Columbia Falls forever.”

Residents balked at the developer asking for a height variance to make the apartments 45 feet tall. City regulations cap the height of buildings at 35 feet. They noted that tourists visit to see mountains, not buildings that block the views.

Drilling city sewer and water lines under the Flathead River proved another major concern. While cities in the Flathead have put utilities across rivers in many areas, residents argued that the Flathead River is a special body of water and is currently the pristine culmination of more than 219 miles of a Wild and Scenic River system.

A break in a sewer line would be catastrophic, they said.

“We ask you to keep our river wild, we ask you to oppose this subdivision,” said resident Eleanor Smiley, who is just a freshman in high school, but drew applause from the crowd.

The sheer number of people the development would bring also proved contentious. Twelve hundred more people is 20% of the current city population.

“A development for 1,200 people is a new city, not just a new development,” said resident Courtney Stone.

After taking public comments until 11 p.m., the planning board then took about an hour to discuss the proposal. They brought up several concerns that echoed public sentiment.

The board voted for a couple of amendments to the staff report that better reflected the language of the growth policy, clarifying that the area should host single family homes — not rentals — and that the development would have an adverse effect on vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

In the end, the board voted unanimously against changing the zoning of the development from its current CR-3 residential to CR-4. The CR-4 zoning would have allowed the higher density housing.

Board member Mike Shepard was absent from the meeting.

CR-3 still allows high density housing, but a bit less, from two to eight units per acre. Built under CR-3, the development would go up with about 100 fewer units.

The board also voted against recommending the planned unit development and the subdivision itself to city council.

The city council has the final say in the application. It will take it up at 7 p.m., Aug. 29 at a special meeting at the Columbia Falls Junior High.

Board chairman Russ Vukonich urged the public to attend.